An off-duty police officer banged a rifle butt...

LOADED GUN.

February 14, 1989

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — LOADED GUN. An off-duty police officer banged a rifle butt on his floor to make a downstairs neighbor turn down his music, but the rifle fired shooting his upstairs neighbor in the leg, police said. Police consider the shooting an accident, said spokesman Vince Dean. ''There's no animosity from the people upstairs,'' Dean said. ''They were real understanding - as understanding as someone could be.'' Officer Mark Haskins, 29, said he was awakened by music about 6:30 a.m. Saturday. After 45 minutes, he grabbed a .223-caliber assault rifle from under his bed. Haskins, a firearms training assistant, said he thought the gun was unloaded when he struck the butt on the floor, but the rifle fired through the ceiling. Todd Dingman, 29, was asleep when he heard a noise and then realized he had been shot in the leg. He underwent surgery and was released Sunday.